Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 4:19 PM
Today, we went to Nagasaki for a special trip.
About 15km off the coast of Nagasaki lie several uninhabited islands. One of them is a small island called Hashima Island, but its nickname is more well-known: Gunkanjima (Battleship Island).
Why? Well, this is its silhouette:
Hashima was bought by Mitsubishi at the end of the 19th century, and turned into a base for a coal mine in order to mine the coal on the sea bed.
At its peak, Gunkanjima's population was 1,391 per hectare for the residential district, the highest population density ever recorded worldwide.
When petroleum began replacing coal in Japan, most mines were feeling the brunt of it and started to shut down; Hashima was no exception, and Mitsubishi announced its closure in 1974.
Since then, the island is deserted and the buildings left to the elements, many of which have collapsed on their own, others just seriously deteriorated.
In April 2009, Gunkanjima has been opened for the public once more; a small portion of the island has been paved with a concrete path for visitors.
I visited the island today, together with Niels, Rob and Martijn, and here is an impression of what we saw there:
It has left quite an impression.
Tomorrow is preparation day; do some laundry, ship my suitcase to Osaka and hang around in Hakata. One of the Toyoko Inn-staff pointed me to a yukata-shop.
Cheers, K.